BATH

design decision

Quiet Luxury

The master bath offers spiritual
nourishment in a serene setting.
Stone tiles from China surround
the soaking tub (bottom), which
the owners say is “too tempting
to resist,” yet the inspiration is
thoroughly Japanese, with a
modern riff on the traditional
bathing ritual. A large skylight
(right) illuminates soft gray walls
and provides natural light above a
pair of sinks set in rough New
England slate, on which, in a
reprieve from the harried world of
texting, Scott and Katie
McDonald hand-write notes to
each other in chalk on the
blackboard-like material.